From time to time readers ask me why their cake sank in
the middle when baking. They always say something along the lines of: "I
followed the recipe perfectly, but it still sank. What did I do?!"
While it's impossible for me to know exactly what happened in any
specific occasion without my actually being there, and I can't pretend to be an expert baker myself, these are the top 5 things you should look out for which may help to
keep your cake from sinking the next time you bake:

1. Old Baking Powder:
Baking powder may only account for a tiny percentage of your entire cake
ingredients, but it can ruin the whole thing if you're not careful!
Remember that baking powder only stays fresh for about 6 months to a
year, so date them when you buy them, and toss and replace any
containers that have been hanging around too long.

Not sure if yours is still good? Take 5 seconds to test it before you
start baking by placing a teaspoon of baking powder in about a 1/2 cup
of hot water. If still good, it should start to bubble rapidly. If
nothing (or barely nothing) happens, it's time to head to the store.
2. Too Much Leavening: As counter-intuitive as it might sound, adding too much
baking powder, baking soda, or yeast to a cake will cause it to sink as
the amount of air that is created within the cake will be more than the
structure can support and the whole thing will come crashing down.

Never add additional baking powder or other leaveners to self-raising
flour or cake mixes (they already have it mixed in), and always be sure
to read a recipe clearly and measure carefully.

When in doubt, remember that the average ratio for baking powder to
flour is 1 to 1.5 teaspoons per cup of AP flour; so if you read a recipe
that calls for something way above that, it's probably an error.3. Overbeating: this is probably one of the most common reasons why cakes sink. I'm
not sure what it is, but we all seem to have a natural tendency towards
overbeating cake batter until it is smooth and creamy. This is even
easier to do when we rely on the trusty old Kitchen Aid or food
processor to do our mixing for us. But beating in too much air into the
batter once the dry and wet ingredients are combined will only cause the
batter sink.

Go ahead and work the air in when creaming the butter, sugar, and eggs,
but as soon as you add the flour mixture, remember that it's ALL about
the light hand. Fold the dry ingredients through the wet only until they
are just combined, then delicately divide and pour into your cake pans.
If adding anything at the end (food coloring, chocolate chips, nuts,
etc.), continue to work the addition through the batter as gently as
possible in a flowing folding motion.

4. Oven Temperature:
an oven that isn't properly calibrated and runs either too hot or too
cold, could easily make for a falling cake. If possible, spring for an
external oven thermometer (you can find them in the $15-$30 range at
stores like Bed, Bath, and Beyond) to make sure that when it says 350 on
the dial, it's really 350 inside the oven.

Also, don't be tempted to peek inside that oven for at least the first
80% of the suggested baking time. Remember that each time you open the
oven door, the temperature inside can drop as many as 10 degrees. These
tiny fluctuations in temperature can affect the even rising of the
cake.

5. Timing: Unless a
recipe specifically calls for it, don't let a finished batter sit for
very long before baking. 20-25 minutes while the first batch bakes is
fine; a few hours while you run out to pick up the kids and finish some
errands is not. I always strive to have my cakes in the oven as soon as I have finished mixing them, unless of course I have been otherwise instructed in a recipe.

Remember that the minute the wet and dry ingredients meet, a chemical
reaction starts to take place (like those baking soda volcanoes we all
made in 7th grade science class). To get a light, fluffy, and
beautifully raised cake, you want that chemical reaction to take place
inside the oven as the cake bakes so that the air that is created gets
sealed into the baking cake. If your batter is sitting on the counter or
on the fridge, the air created inside will just escape into the room,
and come time for baking, there will be less to lift the cake up.

Preheating IS important. Depending on your oven, it can take as
long as 30 minutes for it to reach the optimal baking temperature.
Always be sure to do that first before getting on with your recipe or
you'll end up with an uneven, lumpy cake.

Baking Powder and Baking Soda are NOT interchangeable. Though
baking powder contains baking soda, it also has other components that
act as a catalyst for all that good air-creating cake-rising action, and
is used in recipes that don't have acidic elements. Baking soda usually
works along with an acid (lemon juice, buttermilk, yogurt, chocolate,
etc.). Some recipes call for both, but that doesn't mean that you can
skip one or the other; if it calls for both, be sure to use both.

Center your oven rack. Unless otherwise told, position your oven
rack in the center and place the cake pans right in the middle of the
rack. If baking two cake layers at once, place them on the same rack
side-by-side; don't put one on top of the other; they won't bake evenly
that way.

As much as possible have all your ingredients at room temperature. I know it is very tempting to want to be in a rush and to think that it can't possibly hurt if all of your ingredients are at different temps. When it comes to the science of baking however, this variance in temperature between ingredients can make a really big difference when it comes to the end result.
Bake a cake with frigid butter and eggs and you may end up with something
resembling a pancake. That’s why some recipes call for “room
temperature” ingredients, a frustratingly general concept, especially
from a scientific point of view. Baking with room temperature butter helps to create "fluffiness." Too warm or too cold butter can result in either too few air bubbles, or air bubbles with don't hold their shape and flatten quickly.

Eggs are also crucial in giving loft to baked goods. The white of the
egg is 90 percent water and 10 percent protein; when you beat an egg,
it’s the protein that traps the air bubbles, and when incorporated into
baked goods, these bubbles expand in the heat of the oven. Egg whites
can be whipped up to eight times their volume, but this maximum
air-trapping happens only when the eggs are warm; in warm eggs, the
whites and yolks are looser, so it’s easier to incorporate air into them
(which is the whole point).

Warmer eggs are also better when
you’re mixing batter for cakes and cookies, because if you introduce
cold eggs to a warmer butter-sugar mixture, the fat in the butter could
harden. That would impede integration of the butter and eggs, which is
why you’re creaming them to begin with.

But you do want your eggs
to be cold if you need to separate the whites and yolks. Cold eggs are
easier to separate, so if your recipe calls for the yolks and whites to
be separated, do it before warming the eggs.

So now that I have told you all that I can about the science of baking and shared all of my wisdom in great cake bakery, I think it's only fair that I share my absolute favourite cake recipe with you.

It's a deliciously buttery sponge, filled with fresh raspberries and baked
into two moist layers. Sandwiched together with a lovely vanilla butter
cream icing and some seedless raspberry jam, and then drizzled with
more sweetness. This is one very moreishly scrummy cake.

This
is the cake I always bake for summer birthdays. A light moist sponge,
filled with lovely raspberries, butter cream icing and seedless
raspberry preserves. Top with a sweet glaze and serve with more
raspberries.

For the glaze:
100ml icing sugar sifted (1/3 cup approx.)
water to thin

Also about 4 heaped dessertspoons of seedless raspberry jam

Preheat
the oven to 180*C/350*F/Gas mark 4. Butter two 8 inch sandwich cake
tins. Line the bottoms with parchment paper. Set aside.

Cream
together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg
yolks. Sift the flour and baking powder over the creamed mixture and
then fold in using a metal spoon. Fold in the ground almonds and
exract. Fold only until all traces of the flour have disappeared.

Beat
the egg whites until they just hold their shape. Fold them in gently,
by thirds, being careful not to overmix and lose the lightness of the
whites. Lightly fold in the berries. Divide between the two prepared
cake tins and level off carefully.

Bake in the heated oven for 30
to 35 minutes, just until they test done. A toothpick inserted in the
centre should come out clean and they should spring back when lightly
touched on top.

Remove from the oven. Let cool in the tins for
five minutes, then tip out onto wire racks, peel off the baking paper
and allow to cool completely.

Make the buttercream by beating together all the ingredients until smooth and creamy.

Place
one cake, bottom side up on a cake plate. Spread completely with all
the buttercream. Spread the raspberry jam over top of the buttercream
and then top with the other cake layer, placing it right side up. Whisk
together the icing sugar for the glaze and enough water to make a
smooth drizzable mixture. Drizzle decoratively over the top of the
cake. Allow to set, then dust with more icing sugar if desired.

Right about the time this gets posted today, the Toddster and I will be heading on down to Sommerset to the Yeo Valley Farm for a day which we hope will be informative and fun. So . . . I'm not really here at the moment. I'm probably somewhere in the middle of the UK on a train in transit.

One of my favourite things about blogging is having the opportunity to try out new things. I was recently sent some gluten free products from Orgran to try. I was quite excited to do this. We have some friends with a son who is gluten intolerant and I know how much they struggle in trying to conform to his diet. It's not been very easy for them.

Orgran is known to be a Pioneer in the Gluten Free Industry, offering products that are not only gluten free, but also healthy and nutritional. Not only are their products gluten free, but they are also wheat free, dairy free, GMO free, egg free, yeast free and vegan.

I was sent a package of their Buckwheat Pasta Spirals to trial and a package of their Buckwheat Pancake Mix.

I have to say upfront, I don't like buckwheat pancakes. At least not the kind that used to come in the Aunt Jemima packet back home. It had a funny flavour, which I wasn't all that fond of and I was a bit skeptical when it came to these things, but I was willing to give it a go.

My sister is very pro-raw-healthy-gluten-sugar-GMO-etc free. She made me some buckwheat grawnola clusters when I was home in April and I loved them. I loved them so much that when I came home to the UK I sourced and found myself a bag of buckwheat to sprout. (Haven't done it yet sis, but it's in the planning stages!!)

I love pasta as you know and so the first thing I tried was the pasta. I developed a tasty sauce to have with it. This sauce would be tasty on any kind of pasta and I am happy to say that it tasted really good on the buckwheat pasta.

The pasta cooked up nicely, was perfectly al dente in the time on the package directions, and other than it being a tiny bit darker than normal pasta, it pretty much tasted the same as any pasta. In fact if you didn't know it was made from buckwheat you could never know the difference. It was really good.

Buckwheat Pasta Spirals

Pasta

250g

Orgran Buckwheat
Pasta is a nutritious quality product naturally wheat free and gluten
free. Buckwheat is not related to wheat in any way and actually belongs
to the rhubarb family of plants. It is known to have the best source of
high biological proteins in the plant kingdom and is highly valued for
its nutritional benefits.

I chose to make a gutsy healthy sauce using sun dried tomatoes, toasted pine nuts, Parmesan Cheese, Balsamic vinegar and olive oil. I wanted a thick sauce that would tuck itself into all of those nooks and crannies.

I added fresh baby rocket . . . both for colour and for punch. I love the peppery meaty flavour of rocket. We grew some in our garden this year and it grows like a weed, which makes me a happy camper. It can be pricey in the shops. Stuff you grow yourself is always tastier, I think . . .

I added a tasty sprinkle of crumbled goats cheese, which added a depth of richness to the dish and a pleasant tang. You could of course use another soft cheese if you are not fond of goats cheese. We are, but ricotta would work well as would farmers cheese . . .

With
it's delicious tomato pesto-like sauce, combined with the meaty
pepperiness of wild rocket and the tangy richness of the goats cheese,
this is a winner/winner!

10 sun dried tomato halves, packed in oil

(you want about 3/4 of a cup)

(drain well, rinse and pat dry)

two heaped dessert spoonfuls of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

3 TBS pine nuts, toasted

2 tsp good quality balsamic vinegar

1 fat clove of garlic, peeled and chopped

85ml of extra virgin olive oil (1/3 cup)

1 pound of pasta twirls

fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

a couple large handfuls of wild rocket

(wash well and spin dry)

170g of crumbled goats cheese (about 3/4 cup)

Bring
a large pot of lightly salted water to the boil and cook the pasta
according to the package directions. While the pasta is cooking make
the sauce, by combining the sun dried tomato halves, toasted pinenuts,
cheese, balsamic vinegar and garlic in the bowl of a food processor.
Process until they are finely ground. With the motor still running
drizzle in the oil until well incorporated.

Drain the
pasta, reserving 225ml of the water (1 cup). Return the pasta to the
pot. Add the sun dried tomato mixture along with half of the reserved
pasta water. Toss to combine. Add the rocket and stir just to wilt,
adding more pasta water as needed. Season to taste with salt and
pepper. Pour into a large serving bowl. Scatter the goats cheese over
top and serve.

They also sent me a box of their Buckwheat Pancake Mix. I was rather skeptical about this really . . . gluten free pancakes???? Would they be any good???

It is also gluten free, wheat free, dairy free, egg free, soy free, vegan and has no added sugar.

Buckwheat Pancake Mix

Cooking and Baking

375g

Orgran Buckwheat
Pancake Mix is wholesome and contains no added cane sugar making
delicious and nutritious pancakes the whole family will enjoy.
Buckwheat, the main ingredient, is part of the rhubarb family of plants
and considered to be the best known source of high biological protein in
the plant kingdom.

I was well surprised actually. They rose up nice and beautiful . . . there was none of that horrible taste I remembered from the Aunt Jemima buckwheat pancakes that I had not been fond of . . .

Take a look. A picture says a thousand words. We enjoyed them with lashings of pure Canadian maple syrup. You gotta have maple syrup with pancakes don't you? Oh, and I did add a nice little pat of butter on the top of each of our stacks.

Orgran has a whole host of products which you can see here. In the UK they are available at most good health food stores and online via Amazon.uk as well as the Eco Green Store. The prices are fairly reasonable too, so that's another bonus, with the pancake mix selling for £2.80 for a 13.2 oz box, and the pasta spirals selling at £1.99 for a 250g package.

In the world of specialized foods, that's not half bad.

Many thanks to the people at Orgran for affording me this opportunity to try something new! It's nice to know that gluten free and healthy can also be tasty!

One thing I really miss at this time of year is fresh corn on the cob. They call it Sweet corn here . . . not sure why that is, only that it is. You can get corn on the cob here in the shops . . . but it really isn't very good. They don't seem to understand that corn begins to turn starchy as soon as it's picked . . . or that you shouldn't completely husk it.

The shelves in the grocery shops have sweet corn, already husked, or partially husked . . . been sitting there for days. It's not good. Having eaten corn right off the waggon and fresh out of the fields for most of my life, I am spoilt as far as corn goes.

We tried to grow our own one year. Peaches and cream. You would think that would have been relatively easy enough . . . just plant the seeds, but . . . it just didn't work. We got only a few cobs . . . and they were very small. Tasty, but hardly worth the effort.

I keep saying that some year I am going to go home to visit during corn season . . . so that I can enjoy a good feed of it, and one year I will. It's a promise I have made to myself. Back home you know your corn is ready to pick as soon as the raccoons help themselves . . . that's one things raccoons know well . . . perfectly ripe corn.

Here I make do with tinned sweet corn. It's better than any you can buy fresh, or perhaps I should say any that you can buy in the shops fresh. I have never seen it for sale at the side of the road like we do back home. It might be different if they did. Perhaps it would taste just as good, fresh picked as the stuff I am used to.

I fear I will never find out. In any case this casserole today is a beautiful side dish which makes good use of tinned sweet corn, two varieties . . . and cheese. The pasta cooks in the corn, soaking up all of it's flavour. that makes for one mighty tasty casserole. Your family will eat this one up. I promise! If they like corn, they'll love this.

Stir
together both tins of corn, remembering not to drain either one of
them. Add 1/2 tin of milk, some seasoning to taste and most of the
cheese, reserving a small handful for the end. Pour this mixture into
the prepared baking dish, spreading it out. cover tightly with
aluminium foil. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring it every fifteen minutes
and uncovering for the last ten minutes. At that point you can sprinkle
the remainder of the cheese on top and the cracker crumbs. Bake for
the last 10 minutes until golden brown. Simply scrummy.

Recipe clarification just in case there is some confusion:
You use the empty tin of creamed corn to measure the milk. It is not tinned milk, just ordinary milk. Also you add the pasta dry to the mix and it cooks in the oven, absorbing most, if not all of the liquid!

You would be forgiven for thinking that this isn't the most exciting recipe that you have ever seen . . . because after all what is it, but another version of mashed potatoes.

If you were to not give it a second look however, I have to say . . . you'd be missing out on something really wonderful and pretty special.

Creamy mashed potatoes laced with deliciously caramelized onions . . . the onions lending it a touch of moreish sweetness, that is quite, quite wonderful, to say the least.

It's mash . . . but it's so much more than that. I do hope you'l try it and if you do, let me know what you think. I don't think this could get any better, unless of course you add a tablespoon or two of finely grated Parmesan cheese.

Now that my friends . . . would simply be awesome.

*Browned Onion Mash*

Serves 4 to 6

Printable Recipe

Delicious version of mashed potatoes, kicked up with caramelized onions.

4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut up

lightly salted water to cover

2 medium onions, peeled and coarsely chopped

2 TBS butter, divided

75ml of hot milk (1/3 cup)

fine sea salt and ground white pepper to taste

Place
the potatoes in a pot of lightly salted water to cover. Bring to the
boil. Cook until tender, drain, and then mash. Whilst the potatoes are
cooking, melt one TBS of the butter in a large frying pan. Add the
chopped onions. Saute, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until
the onions soften and begin to caramelize. Once you have the potatoes
mashed, whisk in the hot milk, remaining TBS of butter and the
caramelized onions, along with some salt and white pepper. Serve hot.

(I normally like to do these posts as soon as possible after the event, but due to having taken very ill within a few days of attending this event, I am rather late in doing so. I hope that I am able to do justice to the very fine day that was had by both the Toddster and myself. )

Several weeks back Todd and I were well pleased to have received an invitation to a Field to Fork Day experience being held at Gamage Hall Farm, in Dymock, Gloucestershire. Having been sponsored by EBLEX we were keen to go. Todd was a cow-man once upon a time ago and we both have a keen interest in how what we choose to eat and put into our bodies is farmed and produced.

EBLEX is a part of the Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board for the UK, working independantly of the British Government, but liasing closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is their mandate to help to promote consumer confidence towards Beef and Lamb products here in the UK. The Quality Standard Mark scheme champions eating quality, provenance, food safety, animal welfare and care for the environment.

The recent crisis in the meat industry with horse-meat having found it's way onto our supermarket shelves and in frozen ready meals and other beef products, has only served to highlight how very important traceability and provenance are when it comes to what we, as consumers want to eat, and what we expect to be provided with when we hand over our hard earned cash. Let's face it. Meat is expensive.

We were treated to a day on a lovely farm, Gamage Hall Farm, owned by the Westaway family, which is situated on 170 acres of beautiful farm land in the county of Gloucestershire.

They had the cutest Jack Russell dog named Spot, who I think was the official greeter of the day. He had personality plus!

We were treated to a wonderful tour of the farm by Paul Westaway and his family. We learned a lot about what is involved in producing quality beef for the table. The farm was clean. The animals were clean and well cared for. It was clear every step of the way that they were much more than simply stock.

This is Gareth. He is the highest ranked Angus young Bull in Europe today and amongst the top 1% of the breed globally. He was a beautiful animal.

IN order to be a part of the EBLEX Quality standard mark scheme a producer of beef or lamb has to meet some very high specifications and quality assurances, which cover everything from the age of the animal, to carcase specifications, maturation, eating quality and care for the environment. All things each of us, as consumers, should be concerned about.

The quality standard mark highlights where your beef and lamb was born, raised and slaughtered, and the flag on the label should show you which country it originated in. ie. British (Scotland, Wales, etc.) with the Union Jack or English (England) with St Georges Flag.

Great care was taken throughout our day to make sure we were as informed as possible about ever aspect of the process our quality standard red meats go through to get them from the field to our plate.

There was a fabulous lecture given which showed us in great depth what all goes into the production of our meat. It's not as simple as growing a steer . . . there are very strict specifications to adhere to, which I found very informative and reassuring. You can read more about that on their page, here. I think you would find it very interesting. We both certainly did.

After that we had a butchering class, which was held outside. Here we got to see several different joints of meat and how they would be broken down for sale.

I found this part fascinating. I learned the difference between aged meat and un-aged meat and why one might taste better than another.

And why something which has been aged and hung for a longer time might cost more and have a greater depth of flavour. The longer a piece of meat is hung and aged, the more concentrated the flavour becomes as moisture is lost. It also loses size and weight, which means that a more mature steak which is the same size as a less mature one, might have started out as a much larger piece of meat. It only makes sense that it would cost more to purchase. I never quite understood that before, but now I do! (and I probably haven't explained it right, but I hope you get the idea!)

There are right ways and wrong ways to cut meat. It always really annoys me when we go to a Carvery and the chef serving the meat, slices it with the grain instead of against it. Don't they know the difference?? It also annoys me when I buy a steak and it's very clear that whoever has butchered it has simply cut it across the joint, without having taken any notice of the different muscles contained in the piece. You can see when that has happened when you pick up a steak and it immediately begins to fall apart, none of the connecting tissue holding it together. That's just poor butchering non stop.

Anyways, we were shown a few different cuts of beef and lamb . . . and the difference between a nice piece of meat and a poor one.

It was all very, very informative, and we couldn't have been treated better.

The day ended with a delicious barbeque . . .

We were treated to all of the different cuts of beef and lamb which had been butchered and barbequed skillfully and a delicious assortment of salads, which unfortunately I didn't get any photos of as my camera was acting up at that point. (I have since had to buy a new one!) Before we knew it we were back on the train and on our way home and the day was over.

But I have to say we were very well treated by everyone involved in this event. We were well informed about everything anyone could ever want to know about how their beef and lamb gets from the Field to their Fork. We got to see some beautiful animals being reared in excellent conditions and with high integrity and humanity. We got to rub elbows with other like minded foodies and we got to eat some really decent food.

I don't think anyone can ask for any more than that.

but wait . . . it gets even better . . .

These beautiful flowers arrived about a week later, and really made my day. By then I was in the process of recovering from that terrible tummy bug and they were just about the most welcome sight ever!

Many thanks to the people at EBLEX and Gamage Farm for having provided us with this fab day, and also to Gemma and the people at Good Relations for having invited us along. We really, REALLY enjoyed the day and could not have been treated better by anyone.

I love late summer when the garden begins to share it's bounty with us . . . that is the time of year when all the hard work begins to pay off . . . the fruit ripens, vegetables are ready to be picked . . . and there is nothing tastier on earth than things you have grown yourself.

I have always loved tomatoes. As a girl we ate ripe tomatoes at the end of the summer out of hand like apples. It was not unsual to sit down to a complete meal of nothing but sliced ripe tomatoes, sliced ripe cucumbers . . . scattered with salt and pepper and served with buttered bread.

Or a feed of nothing but sweet corn on the cob with lots of butter and salt. We never felt deprived when this happened. It was a real treat. It still is.

I took some of our ripe tomatoes today and used them to make a delicious tomato tart. Tomato tarts can be as complicated or as simple as you want them to be. This one is very simple and very rustic.

It's just a matter of rolling out the pastry into a nice round and then sprinkling it with some rich and creamy soft Goat's cheese. You then layer that up with sliced tomatoes and chopped olives . . . you could add a few capers as well, if you are fond of them. I am, but today I didn't have any to use . . .

A sprinkle of coarse pepper and salt and into the oven it goes . . . until the pastry gets crisp and golden brown . . . and the tomatoes are just beginning to caramlize . . . and the goats cheese lays all rich and creamy beneath them . . .

I like to use the dry cured olives because they have more flavour and are usually cured with some herbs. I love them and a few can go a very long way because they are so very flavourful!

After that you only need drizzle the tart with a bit of really good extra virgin olive oil and a few strips of fresh basil before cutting it into wedges to serve.

Me . . . I always like to drizzle it with a bit of balsamic dressing as well, such as the house dressing in my sandwiches of yesterday. (It's most delicious you know!) All in all this makes for a delightfully toothsome and flavourful light lunch or supper.

This
recipe is a real doddle to make and something I like to make when in
late summer when the tomatoes are fast ripening on the vine. Does
anything on earth taste better than a fresh garden tomato?

1 package of short crust pastry,or make your own

(You will want enough to make a 12 inch round)

3 large ripe tomatoes, cut into 1/2inch wedges

2/3 of a 175g package of soft goats cheese, about 1/2 cup, crumbled

a handful of dry cured pitted green and black olives, chopped

freshly ground black pepper to taste

coarse salt to taste

about 6 basil leaves, rolled tightly and cut chiffonade

1 TBS extra virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 4. Line a baking sheet with baking paper.

Roll
the pastry out to a 12 inch circle. Place the pastry carefully onto
the paper lined baking sheet. Crumble the goats cheese in the middle.,
leaving a 2 inch border all round. Remove and discards any seeds and
excess juice from your tomatoes. Arrange the tomatoes in an even
layer over the goats cheese. Grind some black pepper over top and a
bit of salt and sprinkle the olives evenly over all. Gently fold the
edges of the pastry over top of the filling all the way around, crimping
as need be. You want to leave the centre open.

Bake in the
heated oven for 40 to 45 minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden
and the filling is cooked. The tomatoes will be lightly roasted.
Remove from the oven and allow stand for about 10 minutes. Drizzle with
the olive oil and sprinkle with the basil strips. Cut into wedges to
serve.

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About Me

Marie Rayner

Canadian ex pat deliciously living and cooking in the UK. I cook and eat every day. I like to take pictures of it and then share it with you!

How I got Here

Welcome to my English Kitchen. I moved over here to England from Canada in the year 2000. Before I arrived, I was told that the cooking and food over here was awful, except for the Roast Beef and the Fish and Chips. I had no idea of what to expect, but it didn't sound good.
I landed at Heathrow with a bulging suitcase full of kitchen tools, handwritten recipes and a 4 litre can of Maple Syrup, totally prepared to be greeted with the worst.
I am happy to say that over the past 17 years I have discovered that most of what I had heard was totally and completelywrong!
Here in the UK we have some of the best poultry, meats, fishes, ingredients and produce in the world, and some of the most innovative chefs. I have learned so much about cooking in the past fifteen years, and I've enjoyed trying and experiencing many new things, thankfully most of them wonderfully delicious!
I love English food . . . both the traditional, and the wonderful blend that is modern British Cuisine . . . a delicious mixture of a variety of tastes and cultures.
I hope you'll come along with me as I explore all the wonderful tastes, sights and textures that England has to offer even the most discerning of palates.

Contact Me

If you have any questions or want to work with me, feel free to e-mail me at mariealicejoan@aol.com

Colour me Chuffed

Thank You

TWEET

Did You Know???

Make Your Own Self Raising Flour:You can make your own self raising flour by adding 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder and 1/4 tsp of salt to every cup of plain flour.

Make Your Own Baking Powder:You can make your own baking powder by combining 1 tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda with 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar. It's ideal for coeliac sufferers who can't find the gluten-free variety of this raising agent, but measure it out carefully because too much or too little can upset a recipe's balance.

Make Your Own Mixed Spice:You can easily make your own mixed spice: Combine 1 TBS ground cinnamon, 1 tsp each of ground coriander and nutmeg, 1/2 tsp of ground ginger, 1/4 tsp each of ground cloves and all spice. Mix well and store in an airtight container out of the light for up to 6 months.

Make Your Own Cajun Seasoning: Mix together 2 1/2 TBS of salt, 1 TBS dried oregano leaves (Rub to a powder using your fingertips), 1 TBS sweet paprika, 1 TBS cayenne pepper, and 1 TBS ground black pepper. Store in an airtight container out of the light for up to six months.Make Your Own Pumpkin Pie Spice: Mix together 1 TBS ground cinnamon, 2 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1/2 tsp ground allspice, 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg and a pinch of ground mace or ground cardamom. Store in an airtight container out of the light for up to 6 months.